Insights into the antiproliferative mechanism of (C^N)-chelated half-sandwich iridium complexes

Abstract

Transition metal-based anticancer compounds, as an alternative to platinum derivatives, are raising scientific interest as they may present distinct although poorly understood mechanisms of action. We used a structure–activity relationship-based methodology to investigate the chemical and biological features of a series of ten (C^N)-chelated half-sandwich iridium^III complexes of the general formula [IrCp*(phox)Cl], where (phox) is a 2-phenyloxazoline ligand forming a 5-membered metallacycle. This series of compounds undergoes a fast exchange of their chlorido ligand once solubilised in DMSO. They were cytotoxic to HeLa cells with IC₅₀ values in the micromolar range and induced a rapid activation of caspase-3, an apoptosis marker. In vitro, the oxidative power of all the complexes towards NADH was highlighted but only the complexes bearing substituents on the oxazoline ring were able to produce H₂O₂ at the micromolar range. However, we demonstrated using a powerful HyPer protein redox sensor-based flow cytometry assay that most complexes rapidly raised intracellular levels of H₂O₂. Hence, this study shows that oxidative stress can partly explain the cytotoxicity of these complexes on the HeLa cell line and gives a first entry to their mechanism of action.